The Montcalm Mayfair Project With Fitzroy of London

Leading accessible bathroom brand Fitzroy of London collaborated with London interior design studio, Studio Mica, to develop accessible bathroom solutions for the launch of the new guest rooms and suites at Montcalm Mayfair in London. The brief was to elevate the guest experience through contemporary design that is both inclusive and effortlessly elegant, ensuring every accessible bathroom is as thoughtfully crafted as any other hotel room.

In need of bathroom solutions that would meet accessibility standards without compromising on luxury, Fitzroy of London was chosen for its knowledge and comprehensive product portfolio. The project features products from the brand’s popular Gosfield collection and is a striking example of contemporary design meets superior functionality. Gosfield fixed grab rails, removable grab rails, back rests and white pad shower seats were selected in PVD Satin Brass, pairing beautifully with the other finishes found throughout the hotel.

The warm, contemporary finish helps to enhance the gold veining running through the bathroom tiles, alongside the bold, bespoke wallpaper and playful patterns found in the bedrooms. Removable products were specifically requested by the hotel’s operations team so they were able to provide a flexible solution that allows the bathrooms to be adaptable to better meet the needs of different guests. Offering complete fluidity, when the grab rails are not needed by a guest, they can simply be removed and a matching backplate in the same finish is added in its place. The result is a spacious bathroom that is both elegant and refined.

Anna Mazurak, Senior Interior Designer at Studio Mica, commented: “When working on accessible bathrooms, it’s often difficult to find beautiful products that fit within our design brief. Working with Fitzroy of London was a fantastic experience. The brand offers a fully comprehensive range of accessible fittings in a wide array of designs, products and finishes, making it really simple to complement the existing features of the design. What really stood out was how collaborative the team was as they worked closely with us on every detail and provided us with all the product specification documents that we needed for our drawings.” 

Following its temporary closure in 2023, Montcalm Mayfair recently reopened following a bold renovation. Architects Holland Harvey oversaw the transformation, working with Studio Est and Studio Mica who reimagined the interiors, including 151 guest rooms and suites, a wellness space, bar, restaurant, public areas and an all-day dining brasserie. Fitzroy of London’s commitment to customisation and quality proved invaluable throughout the project, with the result being inclusive and contemporary bathrooms which received praise from the client and their customers.   www.fitzroyoflondon.com 

Fantastic Acoustic Solution At Thackley Primary School, Bradford

Thackley Primary School in Bradford is a busy, happy and active environment for learning, working hard to secure the highest educational standards for their pupils. At the centre of everything they do are their core aims of high standards, Skills for life and creating happy memories. However, both the staff and children were experiencing acoustic problems in the fantastic hall at the heart of their school. The large, open plan room provided a multi-use space used for assemblies, performances, PE lessons and dining but the amount of hard, reflective surfaces meant that excessive reverberation an echo made for a particularly unpleasant acoustic environment.

Head of the School, Annette Patterson decided that something needed to be done and made contact with Sound Reduction Systems Ltd (SRS) who have a great deal of experience in treating noise problems within schools. Annette was able to send across details of the hall, including dimensions and photographs from which the technical department were able to model the space using software in order to provide an accurate specifications and quote. SRS then sent a member of staff to visit the school to take detailed measurements and discuss the various options available for an acoustic solution.

SRS Director, Alex Docherty commented: “As soon as I was shown into the hall, it was clear that the acoustic environment was not ideal – the long reverberation time made it difficult to hold a simple conversation between a few people comfortably, let alone when the hall was full with children. It was clear that a treatment using one of our Class A rated Sonata products was required to solve the issue.”

The estimated mid-frequency reverberation time was coming out at (Tmf) of 3.57s, which is far too high for a room of this nature. SRS calculated that 75sqm of their decorative Sonata panel absorbers would be required to solve the problem, bringing the reverberation time down to (Tmf) of 1.13s, and provided the school with a layout design detailing where the panels would be installed within the hall. The school chose a combination of Suspended Sonata Vario panels and bonded Sonata Aurio panels and SRS were able to despatch their installation team within 2 weeks to fit the absorbers.

Following the installation, Annette said: “I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the Acoustic Panels we had fitted. The whole process was great - from making initial contact with you, site survey, and fitting. You were always so helpful and knowledgeable when I contacted you. The wonderful man who came to fit the panels was just lovely! Really professional, friendly and had a high standard and a high quality of fitting.  The impact of the panels has been simply fantastic! What a difference!!! Lunchtimes are now completely different, assemblies are better and PE lessons are calmer. I have been recommending your company to everyone and playing them my ‘before and after’ videos that I made! Thank you again.”

If you have a noise issue in your school hall, village hall, or in any large, open area, please get in touch to see how SRS can help with soundproofing sound absorption. You can fill in our simple 3 Step Estimator form by clicking here. The 3 Step Estimator works within your mobile device, so you can upload the pictures and information directly from site if required.  Alternatively, you can just email or whatsapp us with the room dimensions and a few pictures of the ceiling and walls in the room. www.soundreduction.co.uk

FP McCann Precast Concrete Architectural Facade Panels And Balconies Feature On Luxury Hyde Park Development

FP McCann’s architectural facade division has supplied and installed bespoke acid-etched precast concrete cladding units, stone inlaid precast panels and precast balconies to envelope a brand-new 190,000 sqft luxury residential development overlooking Hyde Park, London. “Park Modern” is a nine-storey building comprising 57 high-end one to six bedroom apartments, amongst some of the most prestigious in Kensington. Residents in the development have access to valet parking, a resident’s lounge, a 25-metre pool, gym, spa, cinema, and treatment salon.

Completed earlier this year, the super-prime £500 million design and build project for client Fenton Whelan, was awarded to central London based construction company Ant Yapi UK Ltd. Unique to Park Modern’s design is an undulating precast concrete sandstone look façade and curved precast balconies working in combination with complementary smooth natural stone slips inlaid in precast cladding panels.

Designer PLP Architecture inspired by the surrounding parkland, used the setting to create natural lines to allow the building to sit comfortably within the Hyde Park landscape. Recognising FP McCann’s experience in this field, Ant Yapi UK along with PLP Architecture approached the Company to quote for the design, supply and installation of the three key precast concrete architectural elements. 

On securing the contract FP McCann employed structural installation partner RLH Construction Ltd to undertake the panel façade build using free issued tower cranes, significantly reducing the need for any scaffolding on the building. The balconies delivered on a supply only basis, were fitted by building frame specialist Modebest, who also installed decks and floors on behalf of Ant Yapi UK. 

In total, 192 FP McCann precast concrete cladding units were fitted by RLH Construction of which, 106 are acid-etched sandstone-coloured curved panels and 86 are inlaid natural stone panels with the exposed precast concrete faces having an acid-etched sandstone coloured finish. 96 sandstone colour-matched curved balconies completed the order, with all products manufactured and delivered on a just-in-time basis from FP McCann’s Littleport factory in Cambridgeshire. 

Commenting on the Park Modern build, Chris Watson, Senior Planner for Ant Yapi UK says, “This construction approach demonstrated a number of efficiencies compared with practices associated with a traditional build. The off-site manufacturing of the architectural cladding panels and balconies offered significant advantages in terms of product quality and integrity.

On site, speed of construction, minimising waste and the ability to work uninterrupted in all weather conditions were all major benefits. Additionally, the external precast facade system removed the need for scaffolding and wet trades, thereby minimising the health and safety risk factors associated with people working at height”. www.fpmccann.co.uk